ICEBREAKERS
Name Game
Objective: To help each other learn the names of the people in the group.
Procedure: People sit in a circle. First person starts by saying their name. The second person
repeats the first person’s name and then says their own name. The third person repeats the
names of the first and second person and then says their own, and so on until the final person in
the group repeats the names of everyone in the entire group.
Materials Required: N/A
Time Required: As long as it takes to get around the circle.
Organize Yourself
Objective: To create energy and inspire creativity.
Procedure: Divide people randomly into groups of 4 or 5. Teacher gives simple instruction of
"organize yourselves in 30 seconds." No additional clarification of instructions even if asked. At
the end of 60 seconds, the teacher asks each group to explain how they organized themselves (by
height, shoe size, zip code, etc.) The next task is for the groups to organize themselves two ways,
and then three ways, explaining at each break the ways they’ve chosen to organize themselves.
Materials Required: N/A
Time Required: 5-10 minutes
Toilet Paper Game
Objective: To facilitate communication within the group and to begin to build a sense of
community.
Procedure: People are seated in a circle. Teacher shows a roll of toilet paper to the group and
instructs them to take as much as they want as the roll is passed around. Once the roll has been
around the circle, the group is told that for each sheet of paper they took, they must tell the
group something about themselves that the other people don’t know. Talking starts with the
facilitator and proceeds around the circle.
Time Required: As long as it takes to get around the circle.
Materials Required: Toilet paper
Slogans That Fit
Objective: To encourage personal interaction within the group.
Procedure: Teacher asks the students to think about their personal lives. The teacher then asks
that each student write down three famous slogans, savings or lines of poetry that seem
appropriate for describing his or her personal life. For example, "The early bird catches the
worm" may describe a participant who likes to be prepared, while "Do unto others as you would
have them do unto you" may reflect another group member’s personal philosophies affect
professional behavior.
Materials Required: For each participant, a pencil and a piece of paper.
Time Required: Approximately 10-15 minutes.
Wanted Posters
Objective: To build self-esteem and inclusion.
Procedure: Explain that everyone will be introducing themselves to others through "Wanted
Posters" which they will create themselves. Give students a copy of a sample "Wanted Poster" and
a straight pin and pencil. Allow 5-10 minutes for everyone to complete their posters. Have
students help each other pin the posters on their own backs, then tell everyone to circulate
around reading each other’s posters and sharing their own. Allow sufficient time for all to read
each other’s and then call the group back to sit in a full circle.
Discuss and reflect upon the activity. Some helpful discussion questions might be: What did you
learn about other class members? What did you learn about yourself? It is also important to allow
for personal reflection: How did you feel milling around the room? What was the most difficult
section of the Wanted Poster for you to fill out and why? How do you feel about yourself now?
Finally, it is important for the group to show their support and appreciation for one another’s
efforts. "I liked it when…" or "I appreciated that …" statements often start off this kind of
discussion well.
Materials Required: Wanted Posters, pins, and pencils.
Time Required: 30 minutes.
Who Are You?
Objective: To enable participants to become acquainted with one another in an informal setting.
Procedure: Individuals are instructed to jot down three questions that they would like to ask a
person whom they are just meeting. Suggest they be creative and not ask the more obvious
questions (name, etc.)
After allowing 3-5 minutes, ask the participants to start moving around, exchanging questions and
answers. Encourage the group to meet as many new people as possible. Reassemble the entire
group and have all persons introduce themselves. As each individual is introduced, other
participants are encouraged to add other pieces of information or details shared earlier. This will
eventually provide a highly enriched composite picture of each participant.
The following questions might prove to be useful during the discussion:
What were some of the more interesting things discovered about people?
Would they have been uncovered in "normal" conversations? Why not?
What were some of the more productive questions asked?
What questions proved to be less productive? Why?
Materials Required: None.
Time Required: Approximately 30 minutes, depending on group size.
Siblings
Objective: To serve as an initial get-acquainted icebreaker.
Procedure: Before the content session begins, ask the group to divide themselves in the four
corners of the room with these subsets:
1. If they were the oldest in the family.
2. If they were the youngest in the family.
3. If they were any place in the middle.
4. If they were an only child.
As the participants seek out their respective groups, ask them to recall what they liked or disliked
about their respective places in their growing up days. For example, the oldest may have had to
care for their younger brother(s) or sister(s) or the youngest may have had all the "hand-me-
down" clothes. In retrospect, would they have preferred a different place?
As each group has 10-25 minutes to discuss these and other questions, ask for one person to
respond for each group. (Groups should be limited to 8-10 people.)
Materials Required: None
Time Required: Approximately 20 minutes.
Treasure Hunt
Objective: To be used for small group (15-25) as a getting acquainted activity.
Procedure: Explain the importance of becoming acquainted with their classmates. Hand out a
form to each student and ask that everyone find at least one similarity (e.g., "grew up in Chicago")
and one dissimilar trait (e.g. "football fanatic" vs. "dislike sports") for at least 8-10 other
participants. Award a small prize for the first person completing the form.
Materials Required: Handout forms and nominal prizes.
Time Required: 15-20 minutes.
Self-Disclosure Introductions
Objective: To provide innovative ways of introducing members to each other.
Procedure: (Each bullet is a separate idea)
 Instruct participants to take two items (e.g. family pictures, change, car keys) from their
purses, wallets or pockets. When introducing themselves to the group, they should use
whatever they took out to help describe themselves in at least two ways (e.g. "My family is
important to me"; "My car is an extension of myself").
 Ask each participant to state his/her name and attach an adjective that not only describes a
dominant characteristic, but also starts with the first letter of his/her name (e.g., Sensuous
Stan, Marvelous Mar, Inscrutable Ida, Dancing Diana, etc.).
 Group members introduce themselves by name but also provide a nickname that they now
have, once had, or would be willing to have if they could pick their own. Then, during breaks,
members are encouraged to circulate and explore the reason behind the announced
nicknames.
 Distribute 3 X 5 cards containing participants’ names, and a small number of items filled in on
separate lines. When participants complete the items, have them pin, tape or hold the cards
up in front of them in exploratory conversations about the items. Sample questions include:
"The person living today who I most admire is ______"; "My favorite all-time vacation was
spent at ______"; "The best book/movie I ever read/saw was ______."
Color, Car, Character
Objective: To help the group get to know one another better in the early stages of its formation.
Procedure: While distributing paper and pencils to all of the participants, the teacher explains
that class members will be taking part in an activity that is designed to help them become
acquainted with one another.
The teacher then asks that each participant write his or her name on the piece of paper. Under
his or her name, each participant is to write a color, which he or she feels best, fits his or her
personality. Beneath the color the participant is to writ the name of a car that he or she thinks is
appropriate to his or her self-image. Finally, under the name of the car, the participant is to write
the name of a fictional character with whom he or she identifies.
Then, one at a time, class members introduce themselves by stating their names, colors, cars, and
fictional characters. In the introduction, each participant is to provide a brief rationale for each of
his or her three choices. For example: "I see myself as a Volkswagen because I am practical and am
concerned about economic factors."
The exercise continues until all have introduced themselves by color, car and character.
Materials Required: A pencil and a piece of paper for each participant.
Time Required: Approximately 25-20 minutes.
Duo Interviews
Objective: To help the class get to know one another better.
Procedure: The teacher begins the exercise by explaining that this getting-acquainted activity
asks the participants to introduce one another to the group.
Next, the teacher asks the students to pair off, preferably with someone they do not know or do
not know well. (or the teacher may assign partners. Should it be necessary, one group may
contain three members.)
Each pair is to find a place in which they can work with some degree of privacy. They are then to
spend five minutes interviewing each other, learning each other’s names and sharing information
about backgrounds, interests, values, goals, etc.
The teacher may wish to call out the time when one minute remains so that both partners have
an opportunity to share information about themselves.
When the allotted time has elapsed, the teacher calls the class back together.
When the class has assembled, the teacher explains that the partners are to introduce each other
to the group. The person performing the introduction is to stand behind his or her partner’s chair
and speak as if he or she were that person. For example: "My name is Tom. I have a brother and
two sisters and a cat. I was born in California, but I moved to Puyallup when I was in the 5th
grade." (etc)
This continues around the circle until all group members have been introduced.
Materials Required: None
Time Required: 15-20 minutes
The Walking Billboard
Objective: To provide a novel way to stimulate participants to mingle and share key information
with each other.
Procedure: Tell the class they have the opportunity to design their own getting-acquainted
session. Ask them to propose major factors that they would like to discover about other
classmates. List these for them all to see. Examples might include:
1. favorite food
2. pet peeve
3. best book recently read
4. all-time favorite movie (or actor or actress)
5. ideal vacation
Ask for a quick show of hands regarding the three most useful items from the items form the
items generated. Using a rough tabulation, select the five or six items receiving the greatest
support, and identify those for the group.
Provide every participant with a sheet of flip chart paper and marker. Ask them to p lace their
name at the top, and then list the 5-6 categories down the left side, and answer each for
themselves.
Now (and this will produce some laughter) use masking tape to attach the sheet to the person’s
shoulders (they will look like a walking billboard). Then invite them all to walk around the room
and discover who everyone is. (Further exploration of what is written is encouraged.)
Materials Required: Flip chart paper and a marker for each participant; masking tape.
Time Required: 15-20 minutes
Handful of Icebreakers
Objective: To help students become acquainted with and feel comfortable about each other
early in the year.
Procedure: (Each bullet is a separate idea)
 Pair up the participants. Instruct them to interview each other on the basis of:
1. Three unusual things that have happened in their lives.
2. Special talents and hobbies they have.
3. The most important job responsibilities that they have.
4. The person they most admire (or despise) in the world.
5. A color and an animal that best describe who they are and how they feel.
 Ask the group to introduce themselves as they think their best friend would–their likes and
dislikes, recreational interests, personal aspirations, etc.
 Ask the group to examine and describe what is in their name. They should tell their full name,
any nickname or abbreviation, who they were named after, and whether they like or dislike
their name. Also, they should tell what other name they would choose if they had the
opportunity (and why).
Choosing Sides
Objective: To re-energize the group after they’ve completed some serious work. It also provides
a playful way to help students get to know each other, and themselves, better.
Materials and Set Up: Use duct tape to draw two parallel lines about ten to fifteen feet apart,
on the floor.
Procedure: Ask the group to stand in the middle of the room in between the two parallel lines.
Show them the two lines and tell them that you will be saying a pair of words. When you say each
word in the pair you will point to one of the lines. For example, male (point to one line)/female
(point to the other line). Each time a pair of words is called out, students should go stand behind
the line they “relate to.” Everyone must choose sides each time a new pair is called out.
After you call out a pair, wait a moment after everyone has chosen a side to let them look at
where they are standing. Suggested pairs:
Planner/builder Bold/timid Paris/Hawaii
Formal/informal Red/blue Talk/listen
Spring/fall Today/tomorrow Bath/shower
Introvert/extrovert Spender/saver Future/past
Optimist/pessimist Morning/night Ocean/forest